Your Restoration

Share

What is it that Christianity is supposed to do to a person? What is the intended effect?

Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath; the religious leadership wanted to kill him for it. Christ then publicly rebuked them:

[Y]ou circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." (John 7:15-24)

Jesus did this on purpose; he waited until the Sabbath to heal, because he was trying to pierce the heart of the issue: what does God want from us? What does God want for us? His answer is clear: the healing of the whole man.

God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. (Romans 8:29, The Message)

Notice that it requires restoration. “The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored.” Thus, the healing of the whole man. That’s the purpose of Christianity. “Salvation” means much more than “heaven when you die.” It also includes your restoration as a human being—as a man.

What you believe about this will shape your approach to everything else. How do we cooperate with God in our restoration? What are the things we need to do in order to seek it, to receive it more deeply? There is a process, and the results are breathtaking.